The Forgotten Ones
by Amron Fortis
Summary: Two long lost members of the Leaf Village return, and they bring with them many forgotten secrets. They are members of a well known clan of the Leaf Village, and their arrival startles even the 5th Hokage.
1. Visitors

Part I.

The sand crunched under his feet as the young man stepped into the gates of the village. He slowly turned his head, gazing at the village before him. He took in every detail with a cold, blank, grey eye, while his other eye stayed covered by a wide strip of black material. The strap that held the material in place ran all the way around his head, holding his dirty blonde hair up. Another strap ran across his left cheek and tied to the other in the back. He had the air of a well-established fighter, and although he had a look of maturity in his face his overall size placed him anywhere from sixteen to eighteen. His clothes were dull and hung loosely across his thin, muscular frame. To one leg he had a group of kunai attached; from the other hung a shuriken holster. A katana in a worn scabbard stretched across his back, giving him the appearance of a tried warrior.

The city about him bustled with life. Although it was night the streets were still full of shoppers and diners headed to or leaving from their favorite restaurants. The night itself was dark as ever but a full moon illuminated everything in the village well. Clouds were scattered here and there across night sky but they left an open path for the moonbeams to shine down through.

Lining the streets were homes and stores, shops of all kinds, and many civilians roaming about aimlessly, or attending to their every day duties. No one on the village seemed to notice the lone man, and they seemed deafly unaware that he noticed them, taking in each of their actions. He moved to a kiosk and laid down a small amount of money. His voice was soft but with a kind tone. "I would like as much dango as this will buy, sir."

The cook handed him the food and he was surprised at the amount he received. "Ittadakimasu!" he said as he tasted the food. "Amazing," he said with a start. "This is the best I've ever tasted. Do you have any red bean broth?" The cook nodded and smiled.

The cook was a fat, friendly looking man who wore a large stain covered smock. As he strolled to the back of the kiosk the man laid more money on the table. The cook returned with the broth and handed it to him. "Hi, I'm Kiratai Itani. You must be new around here." the cook said. "I've lived in this village my whole life. And since I make the best food in the village," He laughed, loudly. "(Although I may be a bit bias) I know most of the villagers. But I've never seen you before."

"The youth chuckled. "I'm not surprised you've never seen me. My name is Kentashi Yasuo, and I've never been in this village before. Although I must say that I do like the look of the village."

"Just passing through, eh?" Kiratai inquired.

"I hope not," Kentashi replied. "I came to this village to stay, if I can."

"Well," the cook continued. "You won't find a nicer place to live. And I don't mean to give my self competition, but do you like ramen?"

"Sometimes, if it's good."

"Well here in the Leaf Village, you can find the best on Earth. If you like ramen like you say you do, then you can't go wrong with Ichiraku ramen. A shop not far from here sells it. Now I don't cook ramen much, myself, but the few times I've tried, I've been shamed to tears by that Ichiraku stuff." Seeing Kentashi rise to leave he said quickly, "Well it's been nice meeting you. You seem like a nice, peaceable sort of guy. This town needs those sorts of people."

Kentashi laid down a decent sized tip and stepped away from the kiosk. As he left he mumbled, "I may be nice, but peaceable. Not really."

He continued to walk around the village observing the noisy bustle of those around him; taking in all of his surroundings. A group of drunks weaving through the street, and singing a loud drinking song, made their way toward him at his back. They weaved wildly through the ambling crowd and stopped only occasionally to curse at some child or make crude remarks at the women they passed.

Kentashi turned to look at them. They all appeared to be unarmed; all but the one easily identified as their leader, who carried a makeshift club in his left hand. He swung the club wildly and lightly cracked any of his "minions" who's tones of singing varied from his own wild bellows. All in the group had muscular arms but nonetheless the group was plagued with beer guts which sagged below their pants; and pushed out of their shirts.

They moved foolishly through the street attracting much attention, mostly due to the sheer volume of their singing, but also because they were completely smashed. Some of the braver folks from inside the rooms that lined the streets cried out for them to "Go home!" or "Just go sleep it off!" but no one dared face them directly or even let it be known who cried out.

As Kentashi moved along the street, he knew what was coming.

Fact: He was well armed.  
Fact: They were all terribly drunk.  
Fact: Drunken men love testing their skills against those who are well armed; so Kentashi had learned from experience.

He could hear the singing getting louder and louder; the drunks getting closer and closer. As the drunks reached a three foot distance from him, Kentashi reached for a kunai. He would be prepared to defend himself even if it meant wounding or killing them, something he was highly opposed to doing; although something of which he was _very_ capable.

It was only a few second after this, that he felt a bump on his shoulder. All at once the singing stopped and a slurred voice cried, "Ay, what t' 'ell's wrong wi' you, huh? Kentashi whipped around, and prepared to defend himself against the attack he knew was coming. Turning to face his assailant, however, he found that he had none.

All of the drunks had made a semicircle around a young woman, dressed in a kimono, who lay huddled against a wall, trying in vain to appease her tormenters, with soft, fearful apologies.  
The drunken leader towered over her, his wine reddened eyes glowing redder with rage and lust. "You dare bump into me, do you, you li'lle cur? Well maybe me an' the boys'll bump you around a little, neh?" A cry of approval went up from the drunks who began to crowd around her, buffeting her and tearing at her clothes with their grubby fingers.

Suddenly, a voice carried above the laughs of the drunk's and the muffled cries of the girl. "Leave her alone!" The voice growled.

The men turned to see Kentashi, katana drawn, holding a battle stance toward them. His eyes were hot with anger, and he looked as if one wrong move on their part might set him into motion, causing him to slay all of the drunks in one swift motion. But even in his anger his thoughts were cognizant. I can handle this, he thought. "They" should be able to see that. I hope they stay where they are and don't try to help me. I told them only to show themselves against medium to high level threats. This is definitely a low level threat.

The drunks, however, did not notice Kentashi's rage; nor would they have heeded it if they had. But turning from they girl they stared at Kentashi with a strange drunken curiosity. The drunk nearest Kentashi mumbled, his tongue thick with alcohol. "Huh? Who're you?"

The leader caught on faster than the others and shouted. "This fool is here to ruin our fun! Let's show 'em the price o' that!" The leader stepped forward, raising his club in order to strike. He swung wildly with all of his might, and finishing his swing looked up to see only the base of the club left in his hand. The rest lay motionless on the ground having been severed by an impossibly fast slash from Kentashi's katana.

This was enough for the drunks to see that their well armed opponent was too much for them to handle. After hearing a fearful bellow from their leader they scattered, and ran wildly back to their own houses. Kentashi stepped over to the woman and helped her to her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked. The woman nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you," she sobbed. "How can I ever thank you?"

Kentashi hung his head down. "To say that I did more than my duty would be like thanking a man for not killing innocent people. I only did what anyone in my position should have done."  
The woman smiled. Reaching up she kissed him lightly on the cheek. As she turned to leave she quickly remarked, "I hope to see you again, hero."

Kentashi smiled. He hoped to see such an attractive woman again himself, especially in a more pleasant situation. As she strolled away he stood in the street watching her. She was shapely, with long, dark, flowing hair that ran all the way down her back. Her shape was mostly covered by the kimono, but even it could not cover her hourglass figure completely. As Kentashi stood, a terrible thought hit him. Reality snapped into place and he chased after her; catching hr just before she entered a boarding house which she no doubt called home. "Ma'am," he said with an embarrassed smile. "I forgot to get your name or give you mine. It's Kentashi."

The woman giggled and beamed. "I'm Mitsune." She ran her hand under his chin. "Goodbye once again, Kentashi." Ascending the stairs to her room she turned to wink at him before disappearing around a corner. Kentashi stood staring after her, a strange, childish grin spread across his face. Remembering the task at hand he turned to leave, his thoughts still entranced by the girl.

Kentashi had advanced only a small ways, when from out of nowhere three men in masks quickly leapt in front of him, barring his passage. The first wore a white mask with markings that resembled those of a large cat. He spoke roughly. "Who are you? And what are you doing here in the Hidden Leaf Village?"

Kentashi's reply was short and indifferent. "I am here for my own business; it is unnecessary for you to know my business or my name."

The men seemed surprised at this response, but still neither advanced nor retreated from the Kentashi's presence. The first spoke again. "We are the ANBU, and have clearance to know all of the comings and goings of this Village. Now again, who are you and what is you business coming here, fully armed as you are?"

Again the young man spoke with a dark indifference. "My name is Kentashi, and I am here you see your Hokage."

Suddenly the ANBU took a defensive stance and drew their swords, pointing them threatening at him. "What is your business that you come armed to see our leader?"

"That is between the Hokage, and I." The young man lowered his head. "And I will only warn you once not to attack me." Suddenly two ninja sprang from the nearby trees and stood behind him. The shinobi on his left stood the same height as he, but was attired in a radically different way. His hair was a dark almond, and his eyes were the same gray as the eye of the first. On his back two sheathed swords crossed and in his hand he held a kunai, all appearances pointing to the warrior's nature pulsing though his veins.

The Shinobi on the left of them looked as different from the first as night from day. He was stout, at least a head and shoulders shorter than the others. Across his back a giant scroll was hung, the strap lined with kunai. Red stripes, resembling claw marks streaked across his face. His eyes were a pail red, and they glowed with a sinister intent. "Friend," he said to Kentashi, in a low, growling tone. "Are these men bothering you? Shall I…" He hissed the next word. "erase them?"

"Kentashi shook his head and spoke; not removing his eyes from the ANBU members in front of him. "We are not here to fight, Jei." He stated. "If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves as always. But no fatalities, understand?"

Jei nodded, as did the third man. One of the ANBU lowered his body, ready to strike. Bystanders who had witnessed the discourse had all but fled, leaving the dark street empty of all but the shinobi.

Suddenly the ANBU member closest to Kentashi sprang forward, slashing the katana at him, and causing the other ANBU to deliver simultaneous attacks at Kentashi's comrades. Kentashi ducked the swing and planted his foot into the ANBU's chest. The assailant took the hit poorly, reeling backward before toppling over and landing in a heap on the dirt road. The second, who had attacked Jei, had paused in mid strike; his blade hovering over Jai's head, but stopped in an instant as if unable to finish the move.

The third ANBU who was currently engaged with the third of the visitors called out angrily to the second. "Don't stop, you fool! Cut him down!" The second called out from behind his mask, "I can't attack…my body…it's…stuck!" It was only a moment before Kentashi also assaulted the second man, knocking him to the ground.

From that moment on the third ANBU member had no time to talk to anyone. He was forced to constantly fend of the torrent of blows that his opponent sent at him. The katana in his enemy's hands moved almost too fast to be seen and blocking the attacks became increasingly more difficult as the fight wore on.

It was then that the third man pulled a kunai from his holder and hurled it at the ANBU member. He easily ducked the throw and taunted, "You will have to have better skills than that if you hope to hit an ANBU. No sooner than had the words come out of his mouth than had his arms been pinned to his side by an invisible force. Looking down he saw that a thin metal wire had been coiled around his body, and at the end of the wire he recognized the kunai he had dodged. Struggling to get free; he pushed at the wire, but before he could loose himself, his body received a mighty surge of electricity, which shot through his nervous system and into his brain, causing him to loose consciousness.

Standing over the bodies of the defeated ANBU, Kentashi quickly asked, "You didn't kill him did you, Zeru?"

Zeru turned and glared at him. "I don't really know why, but no, I didn't. You were too gentle yourself, Kentashi. You attacked two of the three ANBU and I saw that you barely hit them with any force."

Kentashi smirked. "I hit them hard enough to get the job done." He glanced at the downed ANBU. "No more. No less."

Zeru continued. "I still think you should have taught them a harsher lesson and…"  
He was interrupted by the appearance of three more shinobi. All three were obviously better trained that the ANBU, visible merely from their battle stances. The first wore his forehead protector over his left eye, almost as Kentashi did his right. He wore a Konoha vest and a mask that covered nearly all of his face. Only his right eye was clearly visible. The second was a red eyed woman in in a small, striped dress with one long, red sleeve. The third was a bearded man, also clad in Jounin's clothes, with a half smoked cigarette hanging from his mouth.  
The first man spoke quickly. "Kurenai, Asuma let me handle this."  
"Alright Kakashi." The two replied in unison.

"Why have you come to this village and attacked our ANBU?" Kakashi scowled, "Be careful of your answer. It may mean the difference between life and death."

Again Kentashi stepped forward and spoke. "I will tell you what I told them: We are here to see the Leaf Village's Hokage. We do not want to fight; only to speak with her. These whelps would not accept that and attacked us. We, in turn, defended ourselves. As we will always do."  
Kakashi looked carefully at the three, but especially at Kentashi and Zeru. The three seemed normal except… "Your eyes-" Kakashi asked. "are they…?"  
"Yes," Kentashi and Zeru said simultaneously. Kentashi continued. "We were both blessed with the gift of the Leaf Village's Byakugan. I myself have more than just that…but before I continue I need to speak to your Hokage."

Kakashi thought for a moment. "Asuma," he said "Go to Tsunada. Tell her she has visitors. Explain the situation. Return with her reply. Be sure you tell her of the unique situation we face."  
"Roger Kakashi." was Asuma's reply as he sprang out of sight.

Kakashi turned back to the three. "If you would be kind enough to accompany us to a diner, we can eat something as we wait for Tsunade's answer. I will warn you, however, any aggressive action on your part will bring down the power of the Leaf Village on you."

Kentashi nodded. "As I stated before, we are not here to fight. And combat will only hamper our goals." With this the group headed into the building, as Kakashi kept an eye on all of them. But especially the two with the blank grey eyes.


	2. The Puzzle Pieces

Part 2

Tsunade was "resting her head" on her desk when a knock came on the door. She awoke with a start and wiped off the drool that had formed on her lips. Her desk was cluttered with in-&-outgoing documents; although it would have taken her more than a moment to tell which was which. After a minute of rapid neatening and after making sure that her sake was well hidden in her desk; she shouted. "Come in!"

Asuma stepped into the poorly lit room and lowered his head. "Tsunade-sama, there is an urgent matter, which requires you immediate attention." Stepping forward he continued. "There are three…visitors, that request you're audience."

Tsunade frowned. "That should not be a problem." she muttered. "Speak with Shizune. Have her set an appointment time for them, and let them see me then." If being Hokage is not the most boring, mind numbing job on the face of the planet! Tsunade thought to herself. I would think that my Jounin could do something as simple as set up a meeting time but NO! I must be consulted on this 'urgent matter'!"

Asuma shook his head. "The problem runs deeper than a simple meeting. These three knocked some of our ANBU unconscious."

"Then have them arrested. I don't see the problem." Tsunade sighed.

"Begging your Hokage-sama, but I believe that that would be imprudent. The three ANBU that were defeated were recently known to be trying to gain entrance into the Root division of the ANBU. They are three of the seven that you told us to watch carefully. Eye whiteness reports place them assaulting the visitors with no true cause. It is believed that they were trying to gain favor with Danzou, the Root division's leader, by removing 'threats' from the village. When no threats appeared they began to attack any armed visitors. The visitors were only defending themselves."

"Then don't arrest them and set an appointment!" Tsunade groaned. "But why disturb me about it?"

Asuma leaned forward a bit and whispered, as if he was afraid that the walls had ears. "Two of the three visitors have," he swallowed. "the Byakugan!"

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her face a strange expression of bewilderment and disbelief. Finally her face changed and she leaned forward, laughing to herself. "Asuma," she smiled. "Do you realize that I am Hokage? I really do not have time for such petty, ridiculous pranks."

Asuma's backbone went rigged and his face was more serious than she had ever seen him before. "Tsunade-sama," he croaked. "I am not joking! Two of them had the Byakugan and one of those two wore a patch like Kakashi's!" He gave her a moment to let that sink in. "Now I remember 13 years ago during the time when the Fourth was Hokage, and I was still a Special Jounin; there was an attempt by the Sand Village to…"

"Enough!" Tsunade shouted. "Enough! Bring me these three this instant! Do not delay!"

"Of course, Hokage-sama!" Asuma cried and shot out of the room, nearly running down Shizune and Sakura who were about to enter the room. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to talk." Asuma shouted back at them as he charged down the hall to the stairway."

"What on Earth was that about?" Shizune asked, closing the door behind her.

Tsunade rose to her feet and walked to the door. She reopened it and stepped out. Sakura and Shizune followed her dutifully and maintained a distance as she walked down the hall and entered another room. "What is happening, Sensei?" Sakura asked; a worried frown spread across her face.

Tsunade was too lost in thought to answer. She found a specific filing cabinet and opened it. Rummaging through it rapidly, she pulled one file out. Looking through it further, she pulled out a second, and then a third. Placing two of them under her arm as she examined the third she returned to her desk. "Sakura, Shizune, listen carefully!" she said in her usual, demanding tone. "You…we…may be witnessing a definite change in history."

"What is it, Master?" Sakura asked again.

Tsunade laid the files on her desk and sat down. Briskly scanning the pages she said, "Sakura, are you familiar with the files on the Kyuubi, the Nine tailed demon fox?"  
"Mostly, yes ma'am," Sakura replied.

"It was thirteen year ago when the Nine tailed monster fox attacked this village. We have no real explanation as to why, but we do know that its presence was known days before it reached the actual village."

"Why then did we let it get so close before stopping it then?" Sakura inquired.

"We did not think it would come by here. For a while we assumed that it would move from the land where it appeared into either the Country of Earth or the Country of Wind. Instead it came straight to the Country of Fire."

"Our Country…"Shizune softly reflected.

"Yes it came here, and directly assaulted this village. It was then that the Fourth Hokage gave his life to defeat the fox."  
"I know all of this, Sensei, but what does that have to do with Azuma running from the room like that?"

"Let me continue," Tsunade said. "During the time that the Kyuubi attacked, the Leaf Village and our neighbors, the Sand Village were having a time of serious disagreement. The Sand believed that we had grown more powerful than they had; by promoting too many Genins to the rank of Chuunin. Although war never really broke out, there were several skirmishes and affairs dealing with the Sand Villages treachery."

"Treachery?" Sakura was confused. "What treachery?"

"During the Kyuubi's attack, several Sand shinobi infiltrated our village. Their goal was to kidnap the children of the strongest clans in the village, then raise them up as Sand shinobi. The plan ultimately failed. Although our Village was in disarray due to the Fox, we were still able to kill the invaders. After the Fox had been sealed, by our Fourth Hokage, a tally was taken of our losses. Many were left dead in the wake of the Fox, but the bodies of two children were never recovered.

"It was assumed that the Kyuubi had killed them, but the Third did not rule out the possibility that some of the Sand's shinobi had eluded us and taken them. We asked the Sand Village about it, but they naturally denied all responsibility for it, claiming that the invading ninja had acted own their own. One of the children had been from a side branch of the Hyuuga clan, a two year old, who had not yet had his forehead marked with the Juin (the seal of the Byakugan). The Hyuuga clan feared for the safety of the Byakugan's secrets, but what could they do?

"The other child is a very strange case indeed. His mother was another member of the Hyuuga clan. Her name was Misoto Hyuuga. When only a teen, she fell in love with his father, Kentaro, a member of the Uchiha clan.

"Their relationship was strictly forbidden; considering the problems it might cause between the two clans. In spite of this, the two traveled to another Country and were married. When they returned a year and a half later they had brought a child with them. The child was an outcast among both clans, being a sign of disobedience of both clans. He was two and a half when the Kyuubi struck.

"His eyes…" Tsunade smiled. "His eyes are most peculiar. His left eye bore the Byakugan, and his right…"

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Tsunade-sama," Kakashi called from outside the door. "The visitors are here."

"Send them in." She had no sooner said this than that the door opened and Kentashi, Zeru, and Jei stepped in.

Kakashi took no time before introducing them. "This is Kentashi, Zeru, and Jei, Tsunade-sama."  
Looking into their eyes she found all the evidence she needed. "So you are the missing children, who were kidnapped thirteen years ago." Tsunade said, more to herself than to them. "Are you aware of you past?"

"Our past is a mystery puzzle, Hokage-sama," Zeru quipped. "We hold part and you hold part. Together, perhaps we can see the picture completed."

Tsunade turned to Kentashi. "Your right eye. I would like to see it."

Kentashi reached up and grasped the cloth that covered his eye. He carefully untied the rear strap and let the cloth lower. The eye behind it was closed and he slowly slid it open.

"Sensei!" Sakura gasped. "That is the…"

"Sharingan." Kentashi finished. "Yes I have it."

Kakashi smirked. "I knew it. And here I was beginning to believe that I had the Sharingan's power just about to myself."

"You have no reason to greave, Kakashi," Kentashi said with a smile, as he replaced the cloth. "I have two bloodline limits running through my veins. The two gifts clash with each other, making them hard to train. At the moment I am at a mid-level with the Byakugan but still at a shamefully low level with the Sharingan. It was only after years if hard training with Sensei that I was able to access its power at all. After that time I have not been able to turn it effects off. Which is why I must wear this cloth strip over my eye, as you do, Kakashi. Also I fear it will take me many years to reach a level that compares to those of the Uchiha clan."

Tsunade frowned. "You are not aware of the fate of the Uchiha clan?"

"Fate?" Kentashi said. "What do you mean fate?"

Tsunade sighed. "I guess there was no way for you to know. The entire Uchiha clan was wiped out destroyed by one of its members. Only two of its members remain, and both of them have betrayed this Village."

Kentashi turned and pointed at Kakashi. "I knew that there were not many Uchiha left; but only two? And Kakashi here said he had…"

"His case is unique, as is yours." Tsunade explained. "But he his not an Uchiha."  
Kentashi stared at the ground for a moment. "I have never known much about my clan. My only memories of them were of them scorning me. I have, at times, tried to blame them for all of my troubles. But to hear that they are all dead…it is hard."

Tsunade's face was softened by this display. "So what pieces of the puzzle do you hold?"

With that Kentashi and Zeru began to expound upon their past. Zeru went first. "My earliest memories were those of my Sensei training with us. Mitsai-Sensei was not a kind man. He was very harsh in his training. He did, however, seemed to care for us. He wanted us to become stronger so that we might survive. We spent most of our time each day training with him and with each other. Many methods of training were in his possession. One was head-on combat against him and against Kentashi. He held back little from the force of his blows. He would have us protect wooden dummies against his attacks, sometimes while blindfolded. If we allowed him to destroy the dummies he would administer harsh punishments.

"If we had a disagreement and fought over it; he would not stop us. But any jutsu that we used against each other; he would use against us. I remember once I used a lightning-type jutsu on Kentashi. Later that evening when I was eating, Sensei caught me and used the same attack on me. I threw up everything I had eaten and had the dry heaves for an hour. Sensei was indeed a genius and taught us many of the techniques that we use."

"Was your Sensei the same one who kidnapped you?" Tsunade asked.  
"No Ma'am," Kentashi and Zeru answered together.

"Then how did he come to be you teacher?" Tsunade continued.

"The man who kidnapped us used Sensei's land to gain access to the outskirts if the Sand village." Zeru explained. "Unfortunately for him, Sensei was outside on his land training. Assuming that the man was an assassin, Sensei killed him without a thought; and finding that he had two small children with him, he decided to train them. We, of course were those children."

"Why would your Sensei fear for assassins?" asked Shizune.

"Sensei was an outcast from the Sand Village. He was exiled for openly denouncing some of the Kazekage's methods. The Kazekage regularly used him as a training tool, nonetheless. He would send Shinobi with the goal of bringing one of Sensei's fingers back to him. If they succeeded the were honored and probably promoted. If they failed; they died."

"That's terrible!" Sakura shrieked. "But what would happen after your sensei lost all of his fingers?"

Kentashi answered, "Sensei also had a powerful bloodline limit. He could cause parts of his body to grow back. Once he regenerated his entire hand. Even a lost finger, though, would take weeks to replace. But the times he lost against the assassins were few. "  
Sakura was still unsatisfied. "But why did he not move away from the Sand, why did he stay on the outskirts."

"Mitsai-Sensei always said that he would rater die than leave his beloved Wind County." Kentashi answered. "He also thought that each assassin he could kill would be one less that the Kazekage could use."

Zeru added. "He even used the assassin to help us train. If we could kill an assassin before he did, we would be rewarded."

"So how did you end up here?" Tsunade questioned.

"Well," Kentashi responded. "It was about five years ago when our Sensei died. He had grown old and it was time that took him. Having nowhere to go, we were nervous about our futures."

"You were nervous." Zeru scowled.

"Idiot, we both were. We were only children." Kentashi retorted.

"You were more than me." Zeru snapped.

"I will not deny that, nor am I ashamed of it. I was left without my only father figure; I would expect the same from anyone. At any rate, the Kazekage heard of Sensei's death and extended his hand to us, allowing us to enter and live in the village, as long as we did not speak against him as our Sensei did. It was there that we lived and trained for years. It was not until we learned of a plan to attack the Leaf village that we left the Sand."

"So," Tsunade muttered, skepticism filling her voice. "You did not want to attack your native village because of your love for us?"

"Not really love," Zeru returned. "But our Sensei had long respected the polices of the Third Hokage, and we could not take part in a plot which called for his assassination, as this plot did."  
"There was that; and the fact that the plan was partially spearheaded by Gaara." Kentashi added. "Any plan that centers around that maniacal, sadistic shinobi, and the demon that resides with in him, could not be honorable. I have had run-ins with him before. He is too selfish and unstable to be trusted. It was he that took off Sensei's entire hand the time that I spoke of."

"I see," Tsunade nodded. "But you will be glad to learn that Gaara is no longer sadistic and maniacal as he was."

"What?" Zeru gasped.

"He learned, it seems, the point of selflessness from one of our Genins. He now no longer fights only for himself. Also, once when some of our shinobi were in danger, he and his siblings came to our aid." Tsunade laced her fingers and rested chin on them.

"This is indeed surprising," Kentashi smiled. "I hope what you say is true. If it is, then believe that you will have few stronger allies than Gaara. And I would certainly like to meet the Genin who helped him change."

"I am afraid that that is impossible," Tsunade said. "The Genin who aided Gaara is currently out of this village and is not planning on returning for at least two years."

"Back to the point, however," Zeru interrupted. "What about your piece of the puzzle, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade chuckled. "Ever the impatient one aren't we? Before I say more I would like to know more about…Jei, is it?"

Jei glared at her. "Does she want to know about me, friend?"

"Yes, she does." Kentashi turned to her. "I am afraid that there is not much to tell. Jei talks to no one, but me and he says that he does not remember any of his past before he met me."  
"When did the two of you meet?" Tsunade asked, looking straight at Jei.

Kentashi answered, "It was two months after we left the Sand Village. We found his near dead body being assaulted by wild animals. We…er…made the animals leave…and helped nurse Jei back to health. After we did Jei joined me and never leaves my side. He considers me his savior and would protect me with his life. He will occasionally speak to others, and he tolerates Zeru well, but he's not good at answering questions. Almost anything you want to know about him; I can tell you."

"Yeah," Zeru growled. "I killed as many of those animals as Kentashi did; but you don't see him following me around and helping me out do you? I guess I can consider myself lucky, I would hate to have that idiot follow me everywhere."

Suddenly Jei eyes inflamed. "Friend, did he say that he killed the animals? In cold blood?"  
"No, he did not, Jei. You heard wrong." Kentashi said quietly.

"Of course, Friend, I heard wrong." Jei said, without the slightest bit of mockery in his voice.

Tsunade stared at him for a moment. "Jei," she said, her voice soft and kind. "Would you mind waiting outside for a moment?"

Jei turned to Kentashi once more. "Is she talking to me, Friend?" he asked.  
"Never mind that." Kentashi answered. "Please wait outside; it's alright. Zeru is here, so I'm safe."

"Please, Friend," Jei said as he turned to leave. "Tell Zeru that if you are harmed, I will ensure that he pays for it."

"Please explain to me what just happened." Tsunade requested after the door closed.

"What? About him 'hearing wrong'?" Kentashi said. "That is just his trust in me." He pointed out of the window. "If I was to tell Jei that he could continue walking off of that ledge, without falling; he would not hesitate to step over it. And when he fell he would readily accept responsibility, if I told him it was his fault for falling."

"Yeah," Zeru added. "and yet Kentashi never has any fun with it. If I had that idiot following me I'd have him flat on his face all the time."

"Then I suppose that Jei is lucky he did not decided to follow you, instead of Kentashi," Tsunade said with a smile. "But that is not what confuses me. I want to know why you had to lie to him."  
"Because of his insane love for animals," Zeru muttered. "He loves every single animal in earth. He doesn't eat meat unless no other food is available and even then he apologizes to every one before he cleans it. Kentashi even apologizes with him sometimes! I say Kentashi is to soft on him."

"I only do it to keep peace," Kentashi said, smiling. "Zeru is only happy if things are in turmoil. Too much like Sensei."

"Can he fight?" Sakura wanted to know.

Kentashi nodded. "Number-wise, Jei probably knows more jutsu than Zeru or I. He is a skilled puppet master who summons puppets to fight for him. He is also skilled at summoning and can summon more animals than anyone I've ever seen. The only problem is, he hates to have animals hurt, and so hardly ever summons them to fight for him."

"One last thing I want to know," Tsunade added. "Why does he keep calling you…"

"Keep calling me 'Friend'?" Kentashi finished. "For two months after he joined us, he kept calling me 'Master.' At last I told him that this was unacceptable, and he relented to the name, 'Friend.' I don't really like it, but…oh, well."

"Alright," Tsunade laughed. "tell your 'friend' that he can come back in."

After Jei returned Tsunade told as much as she knew about Kentashi and Zeru's past. She told them more about the destruction of the Uchiha clan and about deaths of Zeru's parents .  
After finishing Tsunade asked. "So why are you three here to see me?"

"We would like to join your ranks as a Leaf Village Shinobi." Zeru said.

Tsunade beamed. "I guessed as much." Seeing the surprised look on their faces she added. "Furthermore I have been contemplating my answer during (and based on) this conversation. And I have decided…"

The room was deathly quiet. Time crept, and it seemed to Kentashi as if she would never finish her sentence.

"I have decided to allow you to join this village. Seeing that you bear the mark of this village in your eyes; (and your friend is completely loyal to you), you will be tested to see if you can make it to the rank of Genin. If so, you will be allowed to take the Chuunin exams which occur at the end of this month.

"As for tonight, Kakashi will lead you to an inn where you can spend the night. In the morning an instructor will meet you and tell you where to go for your test. That is all."

With that the three of them were lead to a small inn. As soon as they had washed and laid down they fell asleep immediately. Tomorrow would be a big day.


	3. The Challenge

Part 3

"This is the place." Iruka said, to the three men. Zeru, Kentashi, and Jei had awoken early in the morning and had met their escort at the entrance of the inn. The instructor had told him that it was not he who would test them; but he would lead them to the one who would. The instructor had identified himself as Iruka, and he had told him that he was a Chuunin in the village.

Kentashi had thought that he was a nice enough man. Zeru had to agree but thought that he was too soft. Jei had mumbled something about Iruka stepping on a grasshopper on the way to the training grounds, but did not give his thoughts on any thing else.

"We are here a few minutes early, so I suppose I'll leave now," Iruka said. "But know this. There are a few possibilities as to who will test you. If the Jounin is Gai, then he'll arrive the instant that he was scheduled to arrive. The very instant. If Kakashi is the one, you may have to wait a while. Asuma, Kurenai, or any of the other Jounin would probably have arrived already. Anyway, good luck." With that, he disappeared, leaving the three all alone.

"Well, it is two till six," Kentashi said. "Gai would appear in two minutes. No telling when Kakashi would appear."

"I don't really know the difference between Gai and Kakashi, (except that only Kakashi had the Sharingan)," Zeru said. "but I hope that it is Gai who tests us. I detest waiting."

Two minutes passed. Suddenly a green blur flashed in front of them. It shot past them, shattering a training post that stood nearby. "Dynamic entry!" the blur shouted. After the dust settled, the young men stood looking face to face with a man clad all in green. He also had orange stockings and a Konoha tactical vest on. His hair was a shiny, black bowl cut, and he wore a grin from ear to ear. "Hello, gentlemen! I am Maito Gai, the Leaf Village's Noble Green Beast!"

Zeru turned and whispered to Kentashi. "He seems like he is a few words short of a sentence."  
Gai laughed loudly. His voice was louder than necessary and every action was overly animated. "Here is you assignment to pass. You three must take me down! I do not care what methods you use or how long it takes. But you cannot pass until I am satisfied. If you decide to give up you will have to run 500 laps around the village in the sunset!"

"Take you down?" Kentashi said with a start. "Is this your normal training for Genins?"

Gai laughed again. "No, not really. But my eternal rival, Kakashi, has told me of your splendid fight with the ANBU members. Now to make it easier for you I will lower the goal. Instead of taking me down; you must all land a solid hit on me."

"Whatever," Zeru muttered. "Lets just start already."

Gai roared with his overly animated laughter again. "You seem hot-blooded like my wonderful student, Lee! I hope you can work as hard as he does! Ready, Start!!"

With that the three fighters instantly surrounded the Jounin. Kentashi moved to Gai's left and stood ready to strike. Zeru moved to his right and drew both swords. Jei held his position and removed the scroll from his back. Quickly dropping it to the ground, he rolled it open before him. Lacing his fingers into five rapid hand seals, he slammed his left hand down onto the scroll. "Summoning no Jutsu!" he hissed. With a puff of smoke, a puppet appeared: a hideous, wooden creature, with thorns rising from its face. It held a two spiked clubs in its hands.

Gai burst out laughing again as he raised his hand into a defensive position. "Attack with all you have!" he laughed. "It is time to feel the Spring time of Youth!"

On Kentashi's signal the three lunged at him simultaneously. Gai dodged each attach perfectly. Seeing this, the three set into a series of rapid, combined attacks. Gai stood in the center of the three, making no aggressive action but dodging everything that came his way; dodging each attack with incredible speed. Kentashi brought his sword down with heavy force, hoping to catch Gai off guard. Gai, however, grasped the sword with his bare hand, pushing it away from him harmlessly. As Kentashi, Zeru, and Jei continued their attacks, Gai stayed in place, laughing and babbling on and on about the Springtime of Youth, how he was stronger than Kakashi, and the skills of his best subordinate, Lee.

After twelve minutes of intense attacks, Kentashi moved from the circle. Turning to face Gai and the others, he set into a series of strange hand seals.

From the corner of his eye Gai saw this and prepared to take evasive action. "I wonder what jutsu you have at your disposal," he said.

Kentashi remained motionless, all but the hand seals he was making. After he had finished making he signs, both he and his companions scattered into the surrounding woods, leaving Gai standing alone.

After waiting for a following attack for twelve minutes, Gai chuckled. "Well, well. That was a crafty maneuver. To disguise sign language orders, as hand signals for a jutsu. I thought that he was attempting some high level technique, when in fact, he was signaling his comrades to retreat and telling them where to meet him at. These young men have more to them than meets the eye, but in order to grow stronger they need a strong rival!"

A few hundred meters from where Gai stood musing, Kentashi, Zeru, and Jei had already regrouped.

"Well, the plan succeeded," Kentashi said. "But the fight is far from over."  
"What plan is that, Friend?" Jei said, in his usual low growl.

"The plan to test Gai's strength," Zeru sneered. "Did you seriously think we could take down a Jounin, head on? We had to learn his abilities."

Kentashi continued. "And from this test we learned, several things. First he is a Taijutsu expert. Second, he is…"

"A complete idiot," Zeru interrupted.

Gen grinned. "Well, yes, partially. But what I was referring to was his respect for one of his Genins. Lee - I think his name was."

"So what?" Zeru said.

"Well, I took some time to learn a bit about each Jounin, from Iruka, on the way from the inn."

Kentashi replied. What I learned was that Gai's primary technique is something called 'the Lotus.'"

"The Lotus?" Zeru repeated.

"The Lotus is an ultimate Taijutsu maneuver that grants the user ultimate speed and power. It does, however, in exchange, wear the user out quickly and leave them with no more chakra to use. My plan then is…" The three continued to create a battle plan for the next few minutes, before scattering into the woods again, to carry out the plan.

Gai moved through the forest, kicking holes into trees and laughing loudly about the Springtime of Youth. As he faced another tree, he noticed someone land behind him. Whipping around, he saw Zeru standing and facing him. "Finally came to fight again," Gai grinned. "Ha Ha! Get ready to face me."

Instead of taking a battle stance, Zeru remained erect. "I would like to tell you that I am leaving." he said.

Gai looked confused. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Because I have discovered that you are not worth fighting. I am going to Lady Tsunade and requesting a match against Kakashi, he appears stronger than you."

Gai's eye enflamed. "You would do well to defeat me, rather than face my eternal rival, Kakashi. I would have you know that I have one half of my fights against him!" Gai roared with laughter.  
"Yes," Zeru retorted. "But Kakashi won the other half."

Gai gasped, as if he had never before considered this. "But… but… I… he…" he stuttered.  
Zeru sneered. "Well, you seem to want to face me. Show me if you can do a better job than Kakashi." With that he took his defensive battle stance.

Gai beamed. "I'll show you a move that even Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, cannot use!" Saying this, he made his hands into fists. Lowering his body, he called out, "First gate, Kai-Mon, open!" Flexing his muscles, he called out again, Second Gate, Kyu Mon, open!" His muscles flexed and his movements became faster.

He charged at Zeru, putting a massive amount of force into a punch aimed at Zeru's chest. Zeru barely dodged the blow and attempted an intercepting move, swinging his elbow at Gai's arm. Gai blocked the move and swung at Zeru's face. The punch landed perfectly, and with wooden splinters flying, Jei's puppet fell to the ground where Zeru had stood.

"What?" Gai muttered, bending down to pick up the fragments of the puppet. "Oh, I see, one of them use a puppet replacement technique in the place of Zeru. Clever." It was then that Gai realized that he had opened two of the eight gates for no reason. He shot off deeper into the woods looking for Zeru, Kentashi, or Jei, in order to prove that he was, indeed, stronger than Kakashi.

He had traveled only a short way, when he encountered Kentashi, who stood in the branch of a massive tree. He called down to Gai. "You seem to have a lot of faith in this 'Lee' guy! He does not seem like that much of a fighter to me!"

Gai's eyes widened in surprise. "What!?"

"He seems like a second class ninja to me! I bet he doesn't even know any good techniques!"  
Gai growled. "That's not true! I taught him his signature move myself!"

"You taught them to him, neh?" Kentashi laughed. "Then they must be pitiful! I suppose there are no ninja weaker than this Lee person!"

Gai's eyes reddened with anger. "I'll show you a move that Lee uses! And I'll finish this fight with it. "Third Gate, open!" Kentashi gazed down with astonishment as skin turned red and veins began bulging from his face.

I had better get away quickly before he kills me with that maneuver. Kentashi thought to himself. It'll be tough to escape from him, while he's moving this fast. My only advantage is that moving slower, I can make faster turns. Time to move!

His thoughts were interrupted as Gai hurled himself at Kentashi with the fastest movement that Kentashi had ever witnessed in his entire life. Had he not started moving only a split second earlier the attack would have defiantly hit him. As it was, he was forced to streak through the forest at his top speed, hopping from tree to tree, leaving doppelgangers at every turn. Gai would stop only long enough to obliterate each clone before shooting toward Kentashi again.  
Gai was moving as fast as the Third Gate would let him. He could feel himself nearing his target. Once he came within a meter of it he drew his fist back to strike. Grasping Kentashi by the vest he could tell that this was a real body and not a clone. Connecting his fist with the back of Kentashi's skull he yelled, "This is what I taught Lee!" Pounding his fist into the body he held he drew it out with the shattering sound of wood. As he dropped to the ground Gai saw that he had destroyed yet another puppet. He roared at the top of his lungs and after minutes of frantic searching, closed all of his gates.

The sun was beginning to set as he reached the starting point of the test. He was exhausted and out of breath, using the gates had taken a temporary toll on him. He now began to partially regret the thirty-six hour training session he had had the day before. He dragged his feet and sat down on the log that he had shattered at the start of the day. His eyes closed for a second, and he struggled to keep them open. He knew it unwise to sleep with those three after him but for a few seconds; it couldn't hurt…

Suddenly, from under the ground a fist shot up, followed by the body of Zeru. As soon as his body cleared the ground, he turned, delivering a powerful punch to Gai's face. At the same time Kentashi and Jei appeared behind him and kicked Gai in his back. He lurched forward and fell on his face motionless. The three fighters carefully moved over to him and gently turned him over. As they did Gai let out a loud snore.

Kentashi laughed. "Well, well. This is a surprise! We must have tired him out." Reaching into his pack Kentashi pulled out a container of rice cakes. "Come on guys," he said. "Lets have some food while we wait for him to wake up."

They all laughed, (including Jei who always laughed when Kentashi did), and set down to eat. They knew it might be a while before he awoke.

When Gai finally awoke he stepped over to the three of them and frowned. "Did you really mean those things about me and Lee?"

Zeru laughed. "Of course not. We were only trying to piss you of so that we could tire you out.

"That's true," Kentashi agreed. "We have never met Lee, nor do we know anything about him. But anyone who could use techniques like those must be a decent fighter."  
Tears filled Gai's eyes. "Oh, you guys!" He grasped the closest one to him and locked him in a massive hug. "You are such great guys!"

"Let go you idiot!!" Zeru shouted forcing Gai to release him. "What's your problem anyway?"

"I think that you will make great shinobi!" Gai laughed in his unusually loud manner again. "I will recommend you to Tsunade for promotion to Genin right away!" He suddenly grew very solemn. "However," he warned. "your path is far from over!"

Kentashi, Zeru, and Jei knew that this was the truth. But they planned to face their future with bravery that befit a Shinobi.

End Part I.


End file.
